Just Another Nobody
by Lucy Ruth
Summary: I don't want to give too much away in the summary, but it will have a good mix of the team (hopefully!), including Sara, Catherine, Morgan, Finn, Greg, Nick and Warrick. There might be a couple of cases during it, but the focus is on one of them. Rated 'T' for content
1. Chapter 1

**I just want to say, before you read this, I am a CSI fan, but I live in England, and I dont have "sky" or anything like that, so I dont watch it very often, and therefore, when I do watch it, I have no idea what series it is. This is set at a time when all the main characters are alive, and in it and Grissom and Sara aren't married. I also dont know very much about some of the more intricate technicalities, so if you spot a mistake, please tell me, it will really help. Advice and ideas are readily accepted. And I apologise if some of the characters aren't quite in character, again, i'm no expert there, and I have a fair idea which ones wont be, but in some cases, they will probably be like that because that's how I want them to be for it all to work, but, if you see anything drastically wrong and you want to tell me, that'd be nice ;) x enjoy :)**

CSI FanFiction – Just Another Nobody

Chapter 1

They walked into the bar, laughing at a particularly bad joke Nick had just cracked, and generally enjoying the chance to unwind after a stressful few days.

"Well, I won't ever complain about a long night ever again!" Morgan remarked, yawning as she accepted the drink Greg passed her. "I thought the whole point of day and night shifts was so we didn't end up doing _four days_ straight!"

"Agreed, but you know, it was worth it for the look on Finn's face when she woke up after her power nap this morning..." Warrick smirked, before yelping as Finn hit him with her bag. Once again, the group laughed, enjoying the opportunity to relax and socialise with each other outside the lab, and the fact that as the case they'd been working had been wrapped up hours before they normally got off, and had been "released early", as they put it.

A couple of hours passed, as they gossiped and made fun of each other, but eventually, they decided to turn in early, as it would be the first night in a while that they'd got home at a reasonable time, if at all. They dispersed, walking out the bar and to various cabs and cars to take them to the various parts of Vegas to which they were headed.

"Well at least I won't ever have to see another body like those again" Sara mused as she walked to her apartment, paying close attention to where she was going; she was always far too cautious, it was one of the things that came with working in the crime lab.

What sounded like screaming followed by a series of thuds shattered through Sara's thoughts as she walked past a suburban house. Instantly back into CSI Sara mode, she put her hand on her gun, holstered at her hip, and made her way up the driveway. As she approached the house, more screaming could be heard, and more thuds. Sara drew out her gun, and walked up to the door. It was slightly ajar, and, peeking through the gap, Sara could see a pool of blood and splatters that led all around the house.

Horrified at what she was seeing, Sara pushed open the door, just as she heard distinct sound of a person falling down the stairs.

"POLICE, STOP!" Sara yelled, hoping that the little white lie would work, as she ran through the house. Technically, she was the police; just she didn't do the whole "arresting" part...

Sara reached the foot of the stairs, and what she saw made her heart sink. A man in his late thirties was lying at the foot of the stairs, and at the top, there was a young girl, about seven years old. Sara rushed up the stairs and put an arm around the girl, who promptly dissolved into tears and fell to the floor in Sara's arms.

Sara instantly grabbed her mobile off her belt, and dialled 911, and was trying to explain what she was seeing, when the girl in her arms sobbed "Rachel! Rachel? Oh God, Help Rachel!" getting more and more hysterical as she continued to sob and scream the name. Sara tried to comfort the girl, but no amount of soothing words calmed her as she continued to cry "Rachel" in between hiccups and sobs.

"Who's Rachel?" Sara asked the girl, with the feeling that she knew what was coming.

"In that room..." the little girl sobbed, pointing to a pink door across the hallway, to which Sara immediately crossed over to. Pushing open the door, Sara's worst fears were instantly confirmed.

**Ok, so this chapter was more of an introduction that anything else; I will elaborate on this in the following chapters. What do you think? Please leave your thoughts in a reveiw, they make me so happy, even negative ones, as it at least means someone bothered to spend the time leaving a reveiw. I know it's a pain, but PLEASE? xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**So thank you so much to everyone who read the first chapter, especially those who reveiwed, it makes me so happy, honestly :D and yeah, the chapters will be longer than the first one, as long as I have enough imagineation to write long enough ones without waffling on, which is what i'm doing now, so enjoy x ;)**

Chapter 2

Morgan and Greg were making their way home, Greg was driving her, as the gentleman he tried to be, when Greg's cell rang. Morgan picked it up and checked the caller ID: "Grissom" she told him simply, looking up for his response.

"Answer it" he replied, with a sigh

"Greg?"

"No, Morgan" Morgan replied to Grissom

"Ah, good, that saves another call. I need you guys back at the lab"

"What?!" Morgan exclaimed, slightly outraged.

"Yeah, I know..."

"What does he want?" Greg hissed.

"Us, at the lab" Morgan replied, glumly "So turn around". "We're on our way" she said down the phone, despite being rather disgruntled.

"I'm sorry, no, Morgan I really am" he added, knowing full well that she was going to disagree. "Blame Sara; she's the one who went and found another case straight away, completely by accident."

"I know, sorry for biting you're head off" Morgan replied sheepishly, before hanging up.

"Great, another case, just what we needed" they both thought as Greg looked for a gap in the traffic to turn around and head back into the centre of Vegas.

...

They all assembled in one of the meeting rooms at the lab. Sara was due back at any minute with the witness, but she hadn't had any of her gear with her, so they were going to have to go back and process it, once she'd come back and given them an idea of what they were doing; once again, she'd been incredibly vague on the phone, as she usually was.

That left the rest of the night shift team yawning and waiting, with nothing to do other than bicker pettily and try not to doze off like Catherine had.

"Sara had to go and find another case now, didn't she? Now, of all times..." Finn sighed sarcastically.

"Well don't blame her!" Nick exclaimed

"Defending Sara again, Nick?" Morgan snapped

"No, just, all I'm saying is that it's not her fault people kill each other noisily whenever she walks past"

Greg tried to smother a giggle as Finn said, grinning "Defiantly defending Sara"

"Whatever, I'm just sticking up for her, as she ALWAYS does for any of us" Nick pointed out.

"Nicky looooooves Sara!" Greg added, grinning madly.

"Do not!" Nick growled

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do t – "

"Shut _up!_" Catherine interrupted them. Greg stuck his tongue out at Nick. "Children" she added, smirking, as grissom walked in, with Sara behind him.

"Ok, thanks so much for coming in guys, I know you're tired and that, I appreciate it."

"So what have we got?" someone called.

"Double homicide in a house in the suburbs – "

"It might not be homicide." Sara added quietly, then after she saw the looks she was getting, she hastily added "Father and Daughter, father was found at the foot of the stairs."

"The older daughter is fine, but a little shaken up. She won't tell anyone what happened. She's in interrogation, Nick, that's where you're headed." Nick got up and left. Grissom continued "Morgan, Warrick, Finn, to the house please, Catherine, Greg and Sara, you're here to, y'know, pick up the pieces if necessary."

...

Nick waltzed into the interrogation room, trying not to think about how he could have been asleep by now, and looked at the seven-year-old girl in front of him. He consulted the file Sara had quickly thrown together for him and said "Katie?".

The girl looked up at him, then backed away with fearful eyes.

"It's ok, I only want to talk, ask you a few questions" Katie continued to cower away from the man. Nick tried to hold her hand to comfort er, only to have her snatch it away and cry in fear.

"Don't...Stay...I...please...no!" she struggled to speak through her hysterical tears. Nick backed off warily as the door opened.

"Nick, is everything ok?" Sara asked, worried, as she took in the scene in front of her. Katie recognised Sara instantly and made a beeline for her, burying her face into Sara's leg. Sara looked at the child, and couldn't help but notice that she was very small for a seven-year-old. She stroked her head, and the little girl looked up at her, terror etched into her pretty little face.

"I think it might be better if you took this one Sara." Nick sighed in a resigned tone and walked to the door. "Good luck" he mouthed as he left, closing the door behind him.

Sara looked from the door to the child attached to her leg and back at the door again. Then it clicked. Nick was a man, and quite an intimidating one, at that.

"Sorry" Katie whimpered quietly

"What for sweetie? You haven't done anything wrong." Sara replied gently, stroking the girl's back as she picked her up and sat her down again.

"I know this isn't nice for you, but do you want to tell me what happened earlier?"

"Not really" the girl sniffed. "But I guess I don't get much choice there"

"That would be a fairly accurate guess" Sara replied, smiling slightly.

"I pushed him down the stairs" she said, quietly and so quickly that Sara almost missed it.

Sara looked at the girl closely. She looked glumly down at her feet, which were swinging in the air, half a foot off the floor.

"It's ok" Sara said comfortingly, thinking that she knew what was going on here. "Do you want to talk about it?" Katie shook her head in response. "Ok, I will just go and get Nick to contact your family" Sara said softly.

"No point" Katie gulped. "I don't have any. My mum died when I was four, I don't know my grandparents, I don't think I have any, and I don't have any aunties or uncles." Katie said, trying her best not to cry. Big girls didn't cry, as her dad had told her many times.

Sara looked at the girl with increasing pity; she was so unfortunate.

Katie looked at Sara: she was obviously shocked at what she had just heard. Then Katie realised that if her dad was dead, she'd have to live in a care home or in foster care. And, while she didn't like her dad, she didn't want that to happen. She looked up at Sara, her eyes begging her to do something.

Sara quietly said "I'm so sorry Katie. I know what that feels like"

**So, I hope this lived up to your expectations from the first chapter. Also, if anyone has any advice/ veiws on potential pairings for later on (if it ever gets that far) they would be greatly appreciated. I have a few ideas, but some confirmation would be good :) Thanks for reading anyways x**


	3. Chapter 3

**So, sorry there was such a gap between updates, i'm trying not to let that happen, but the last chapter wasn't very good (I don't think), and while i'm not promising any better here, I wanted to leave it time and go over it a few times. **

Chapter 3

Sara left the interrogation room feeling even worse than when she'd entered, though she hadn't thought it possible at the time. Deciding she couldn't face her colleagues in the state she was in, for fear of breaking down again, she headed towards the locker rooms to cool off.

As she walked into the room, Sara at once realised that it was a mistake to come here. All the bad memories began flooding back to her as the flashbacks began.

"_Sara? Sara? SARA!" Sara could hear her father's voice calling her, getting steadily angrier, as he closed the front door behind him._

_She stayed firmly curled up in a ball in her preferred hiding place. Her father hadn't got wise to this one yet._

"_SARA!" he yelled. Sara tried to stop the whimper escaping her lips as her father heard it, opened the cupboard door, and dragged his seven-year-old daughter out by her arm. She tried not to cry, as she knew from years of experience that it never helped, in fact, it only ever made things worse._

"_What are you?" He demanded angrily_

"_A stupid, worthless child" she whispered back_

"_AND?" her father thundered_

"_I don't deserve your care" she said so quietly it could barely be heard_

"_TALK LOUDER YOU STUPID CHILD!"_

"_I DON'T DESERVE YOUR CARE" Sara screamed back at him, twisting out of his vice-like grip on her arms, and dashing towards the door. She could nearly reach the door handle as she felt strong, muscular arms wrap around her waist and pull her back. She was going to pay for her latest bid for freedom._

_As he spun her round to face him, Sara could almost taste the alcohol on her father's breath. He shook her so hard that she began to feel dizzy, before pinning her against the wall and shouting in her face. She let the tears fall down her cheeks as she tried to block out the insults, and slowly slid to the floor as the battering began._

Sara screamed as she came out of the flashback and covered her mouth to stop her colleagues from hearing her.

She punched the wall in utter frustration; she couldn't believe how much control he still had over her, several years down the line, even after her mother had killed him. She shouldn't let this happen to her anymore.

She started shaking as the tears continued to pour down her cheeks, and she slid down the wall, curling into a ball at the bottom. She stayed that way for several minutes, before telling herself to get a grip, and washed her face in the sink.

She looked at her hand, regretting punching the wall. People did it in films all the time, but in reality, it hurt a lot more that it seemed. It had already started to bruise, but at least the bleeding was slowing. She hoped no one would notice anything wrong as she walked back towards the main lab.

Her wish was immediately tossed away, as Nick spotted her and rushed over to her side.

"You ok?" he asked, his voice full of concern

"I'm fine Nick, I just had a slight disagreement with a wall"

"Oh" Nick said, dumfounded "do you want some ice for that?" he asked, indicating towards her hand.

"No, Nick, I'm fine" Sara repeated slowly.

"Let's take a look at that" Dr Robbins said softly, as he hobbled towards Sara, who realised there was no way she was going to escape, and reluctantly held out her hand for him to examine.

"Nick, my bag, please" Dr Robbins instructed, as he looked at Sara's hand, turning it over gently. "Well, it doesn't seem to be broken, but we'd better bandage it up anyway, just to be sure." He concluded as Nick returned with his kit.

"Well, I don't suppose you'll be in any hurry to fight any more walls in the near future" he chuckled as he finished.

"Thanks" Sara said quietly, before hopping off the chair and walking out the room.

...

"Catherine?" Nick called.

"Yeah?" Catherine turned around

"I think someone should speak to Sara; something's wrong with her this evening" Nick said, worried

"Nick, there's something wrong with all of us, namely _exhaustion!_" Catherine chuckled back

"No, Catherine, there's something really wrong –" Nick continued, still deeply concerned. He was interrupted by Catherine

"Ok, ok, I'll talk to her, don't worry so much!" she said, still amused. Nick was such a worrier.

"Thanks" he said, before going back to his evidence sorting.

...

Catherine left the lab and started to walk towards the interrogation rooms when she recognised the brunette who was disappearing round the corner.

"Sara" she called after her. Sara walked back and appeared from round the corner.

"Yeah?" she replied, as Catherine walked towards her.

"Do you have a minute? I need to have a word." Catherine responded.

"Yeah, sure." Sara replied, perplexed.

"In here –" Catherine indicated to an empty room, and held the door open for Sara to walk through. Catherine followed her in and gently closed the door behind her before leaning back on it.

"What did the wall do to you to make you hit it this time?" Catherine asked, slightly amused at Sara.

Sara just stood there and said nothing.

"Sara?" Catherine said quietly, now concerned. "Are you ok?" she asked, moving forward into the room and laying a hand on her colleague's shoulder

"I'm fine" she murmured, "the wall just happened to be where my fist was swinging" she added, as an afterthought. Catherine smirked. At least Sara hadn't completely lost her sense of humour.

"There's no easy way to say this Sara... but I think you might be too... I think it might be easier, and better, if you took a step back and maybe didn't take this one? I think maybe you're a bit too...emotional?" Catherine said eventually, unsure of how Sara was going to react to this

"Is that really necessary?" Sara replied quietly, "I mean, I'm the only one Katie will speak to, so far anyway. And I'm not too emotional, I just hate child abuse" she added.

Catherine thought this over in her mind, before finally hesitantly saying "If you're sure you're ok?"

"Catherine, I'm fine" Sara lied confidently. Lying had always been something she was good at.

"Fine" Catherine sighed, resigned.

"Honestly, don't worry about me" Sara added, knowing Catherine was still debating the idea inside. She left swiftly, knowing if she waited too long, Catherine would change her mind.

Catherine watched as Sara left the cool, dark, lab, knowing that there was something Sara wasn't telling them. Now she understood Nick's concern. Then something hit her.

"Sara!" she called after her. Sara came back

"Yes?"

"What do you mean "child abuse"?"

"Oh, come _on_! It's obvious isn't it?"

"No" Catherine replied. "It isn't. How did you know, how can you know?" Catherine asked, her worry gradually increasing.

Sara realised she'd said too much. "I've seen so many cases, in San Francisco. And it doesn't get any easier with experience, let me tell you that much."

Catherine grudgingly accepted this as an explanation; Sara rarely spoke of her time in San Francisco. And it sounded convincing; if she was lying, she was a damn good liar.

"Ok, just, don't get too worked up, yeah, there's only so much beating our walls can take" Catherine said in an attempt to lighten the mood. It worked: Sara smirked as she left.

Again, Catherine watched her go, the feeling inside her still, that Sara was keeping secrets from them. "Well, she can keep secrets if she wants to, so long as it doesn't cloud her judgement." She thought, attempting to convince herself that she had made the right decision.

**Please please PLEEASEEE let me know what you think, it's killing me not knowing, though I will keep updating anyway, for my own enjoyment, but it will be quicker and better if I think someone is going to read it, so, the more reveiews, the better ;) x**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay in updating, I have exams starting tomorrow and have been revising through Christmas :'( **

**As it stands at the moment, this fiction will only have a couple more chapters, as it is all beginning to wrap up, but I am planning to do another following directly on from it (which will be longer if all goes to plan) so keep your eyes peeled x**

"Whoa, what a mess!" Finn remarked as they stepped into the large suburban house. It would have been quite homely, save the ornaments and household items strewn about, mixed with child's toys, and all coated in trails of blood.

"I know! I can't understand how some people can bear to live in houses that are such a mess!" Morgan replied, looking deliberately at Warrick who replied,

"Hang on there! You think my place is bad, are you telling me you've never seen Greg's?"

"Point taken" Morgan said, grinning "to be fair, in this line of work, I barely ever spend time in my house anyway" she added, stifling a yawn

"Ok, getting back to the subject..." Finn interrupted "the quicker we get this done, the quicker we can go home. Warrick, you take the hallway and living room, I'll take the kitchen and dining room, Morgan, you take upstairs, ok? Oh, and usual rules, no touching the bodies until David arrives."

"Sure, ok" they replied, and got to work collecting blood samples, and picking up out of place items.

"Finn?"

"Yeah?"

"Come take a look at this" Warrick said

"Wine bottle, smashed, with blood on the tips of the edges. The way it's broken indicates it was hit against a hard surface, a table edge or alike, but there's nothing in here that's got damage indicating it was hit with a bottle, there's no other shards..." Warrick trailed off.

"I think I can help you there" Finn replied as she walked back to the kitchen. Warrick followed her and as he entered the room, she indicated to the worktop in a corner

"There are bits of glass there" she said, as Warrick took a closer look

"They're too small to match with my bottleneck now, but I'm sure we'll have more success in the lab under a microscope" he remarked, taking a look around the rest of the room. "Yeah, there are definitely scratches on this work surface." He added, taking a few pictures to compare to later.

"Hey, I think I've got something here!" Morgan called from upstairs. Finn followed the call.

"How many four-year-old chain smokers do you know?" Morgan said triumphantly, indicating to the pile of cigarette butts on the floor near the girl.

"Not many, truth be told" Finn chuckled as Morgan snapped a few more pictures before picking one up and inspecting it closer

"Hey, there's specks of blood on this" she remarked curiously, "That's weird"

"I'm sure the microscope can tell us more" Morgan replied, holding out a plastic pouch, which Finn dropped the cigarette butt into.

...

Sara walked back towards the interrogation room where Katie was, wondering if this was really a good idea. She had already had to let off steam once, and she didn't know how much more of this she could take before she fully broke down. That was something she definitely did NOT want to happen at work.

She stepped into the room, and put the milkshake and chocolate bar she had bought on the table in front of Katie. The girl looked at them suspiciously, then looked up at Sara, confused.

"They're for you" Sara prompted, smiling as the little girl's eyes lit up, and hurriedly unwrapped the chocolate, as if it was going to disappear at any point, which Sara's eagle eyes noticed and picked up. This fitted into her theory, and it was becoming more and more clear just what had happened to the girl.

She watched as Katie finished the chocolate, and moved onto the milkshake, which, again, she drank as quickly as she could. When she put the bottle down, Sara laughed.

"What?" Katie asked, indignant

In response, Sara picked up her latte and gave herself a moustache to match Katie's. Katie realised what Sara meant and the two laughed at each other, before wiping their mouths

...

"Well, she definitely trusts Sara, for reasons unknown to mankind" Greg remarked, as he and Catherine watched the scene from outside the door.

"Greg, that was a little harsh; Sara's good at keeping secrets" Catherine said, the second part having more meaning to it than Greg understood.

"Ok, ok, I was joking, but honestly, they seem to be getting on well" Greg defended himself

"Yeah, which is a relief" Catherine muttered

"What? Why?" Greg asked, confused

"Nick noticed there was something up with her, and after speaking to her, I noticed it too. We thought maybe it was something to do with the case; she was getting to emotional maybe? But she seems to be handling it fine now"

"Oh, is this something to do with her latest fight with the locker room wall?" Greg asked, slightly amused at the idea.

"Word really does spread fast around here. Yeah, it was after that that Nick spoke to me, and I had a word with her, but she's ok now. I think."

"Maybe we should just keep an eye on her. I had noticed lately, she looks more worn down than anyone else did, I think there's something she's not telling us" Greg replied.

"See, that's what Nick thought, and now I agree."

...

Katie looked at Sara, noticing something different about her, more than just the bandaged hand.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly. Sara looked at the little, blond haired girl, and decided to tell her the truth, or close to it anyway.

Looking into the girl's round, glittering hazel eyes and said softly "I got frustrated; it's been a long few days, and then I was upset at what I think happened to you and Rachel. It was the last straw, and I lashed out at a wall"

Katie looked back up at Sara and whispered, afraid "What's going to happen to us now? Cause dad's dead isn't he? That's why I'm here, isn't it? Where will me and Rachel go?"

Sara looked at Katie, and held her hand tighter as she said "There's no easy way to say this. I'm afraid Rachel died too, her injuries were too severe for the doctors to save her"

That was the final straw for Katie, who burst into tears. Sara couldn't bear to see the girl crying, and got up, moved round the table, and pulled her into a hug. Katie buried her head into Sara's shoulder, her tears soaking Sara's shirt. Sara just knelt on the floor, rubbing the girl's back and comforting her.

After what seemed like an eternity, Katie pulled away, rubbed her eyes, and said so softly that Sara almost missed it "I don't want to live in foster care".

This time it was Sara's turn to try not to cry, as the girl's innocent comment brought memories flooding back. Unwanted memories that she had tried so hard to block for the majority of her life.

"I will do everything I can to try to stop that happening, Katie, I know what it's like, how bad foster care is. But it will be hard, with a lack of family for you to live with instead; it might be the only option." Sara said, with complete honesty. She vowed she would do everything within her power to stop Katie going to a bad home.

**please please please please review? I would really like to know what people think about this. I will probably continue with this even if I get little interest, but the quality will decrease, and updates will be slower if i'm only doing it for my own entertainment. I get all happy and excited whenever I get a review! **

**So please, if this made you happy, or even if you think it sucks, please leave a little review, just so I know. Rant over, Have a nice day :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you very much to people who read, and particularly my follower! yay!**

**So, I hope this chapter turned out ok, I had a bit of trouble writing it, i'm not sure if it all came across the way I wanted. feedback would be nice!**

"Epithelial cells" Morgan said, triumphantly

"Eh?" Nick replied, tired and confused

"Epithelial cells: Skin cells!" she clarified, "found them on a cigarette butt"

"Yeah, I know! You shed skin all the time, it'll never prove anything other than that the person touched it." Nick replied

"Yes, but how many people go and touch the _end_ of a cigarette, the one that's lit?"

"Looks like we just proved Sara right then, he was definitely harming his kids with these"

"Well, we don't know it was the father yet, we're still testing the DNA from the saliva on the cigarettes" Morgan added

"Well, anyway, I came to bring up the autopsy report; Greg tells me you wanted it"

"Yeah, I need to check...hmmmm...well, that doesn't figure...unless..." Morgan mumbled to herself as she read the report on the four-year-old girl.

"Sorry, I don't speak 'Morganish', can you please translate?" Nick said, wondering what was going on in her brain.

"There weren't any burns on Rachel's skin, which means the cigarettes we found next to her weren't used to hurt her."

"But there are still skin cells on the cigarettes? How does that work? Unless-" Nick realised

"I just hope the cells aren't too burned, or we'll never get DNA samples from them." Morgan sighed, as Nick ran out the lab.

...

"Sara!"

"Yeah?" Sara turned around to see Nick running at her

"The kid you have in interrogation-"

"Katie?"

"Yeah, er, has she got any signs of, er, abuse?" Nick asked quickly

"Well, she hasn't actually said that yet, but i'm fairly sure..." Sara trailed off

"Oh, well..." Nick was stumped

"What?" Sara asked

"Morgan found traces of skin cells on the end of some cigarette butts that she found at the crime scene, but the autopsy report came back: no burns on the younger sibling"

"So we need to know if Katie..." Sara finished

"Yeah"

"Ok, i'm on it. Do you need a DNA sample as well?"

"That would probably be useful, if we're gonna prove what happened; so far all we've got is circumstantial..."

"It seems unfair, why do we have to prove anything? It's clear that she pushed her dad out of self defence, and, unfortunately, he died from the fall. She didn't mean to..." Sara ranted. "Sorry, just getting out of my system" she added, sheepishly, following from the stare she got from Nick.

"Ok... well, let me know" Nick replied slowly, as Sara turned and brushed past him.

...

"Katie, can I ask you for a DNA sample? All we have to do is swab your cheek."

"Uh, sure..." The girl replied. Sara got out her kit and swabbed the inside of Katie's cheek.

"Katie?" the small girl looked up. "I... I need to... ask you something...what...who?" Sara said awkwardly.

"It was dad" she replied quietly, knowing what Sara was getting at

"Okay, I just needed to hear it from you, we can't prove things based on assumptions you see..." Sara said gently. This was a major breakthrough, but Katie's mental state came before anything else, so Sara crouched down to her eye level and pulled Katie into a hug as she started to cry again. The girl's desperate sobs were heart-rending, and Sara couldn't help herself as a few tears escaped her eyes. To go through it herself was one thing, but to see a small child go through it, just as she had, was too much.

After what seemed like an eternity, Katie stopped crying. Sara paused: while they desperately needed information for the case, she didn't want to push it, or Katie would close up, but she decided to risk it, she didn't seem too bad.

"Katie, I, this is taking a risk, and it's a bit personal, so I hope you don't mind, but, could you, please, lift up you shirt a second for me?" Katie froze.

"I'm not gonna hurt you" Sara said gently, "I just need to, there's evidence to show that...well..." Sara wasn't sure how to explain, so she trailed off.

Katie hesitantly pulled her shirt up to expose her abdomen. Even though Sara knew it was coming, she was still shocked by the bruises, but she was more interested in the small circular burns. Sara moved her hand across and gently pulled the shirt down, as she'd seen what she needed to, and she wasn't sure how much more of this she could take before she broke down, again.

Katie flinched at the touch, and refused to meet Sara's eyes as she stared at the floor, tears threatening to roll down her cheeks for the third time since she'd been brought in.

"Katie, when -?"

"It was Dad, he's been doing it as long as I can remember, he did it to mom too" she murmured, before the tears began cascading down her cheeks. The heart wrenching sobs were too much for Sara, who found tears rolling down her own cheeks as she pulled the undernourished little girl into a caring hug.

Sara darted to the door and gabbed Nick "You were right, she's got burn marks. And here's your DNA sample" she hissed quietly, so Katie wouldn't hear.

"Thanks, I'll inform Morgan. That will probably make this case closed; we know what happened, and it was a clear cut case of self defence – no one could accuse a seven year old of intentionally killing her dad"

"We can't actually prove how Rachel was killed yet, though. We either need more evidence or a witness statement from Katie."

"Yeah, I know, but no-one's in imminent danger, so we will probably be allowed to go home and wrap up the case tomorrow."

"Ok, thanks Nick" Sara responded before going back to Katie.

...

"Catherine Willows?"

"Yeah, who's asking?"

"Anita Roberts, social services" the stranger replied, flashing an ID card.

"You're here about the little kid?"

"Yep, are you the CSI on her case?"

"No, my colleague Sara is, they're currently in an interrogation room. Follow me." Catherine replied, knowing full well Sara wasn't going to like this. She didn't like social services, for some unknown reason.

"Sara?" Catherine said as she popped her head round the door.

"Yeah?"

"Can you come out here a minute? There's someone here who needs to speak to you about the case" Catherine decided to leave out the fact that she was from social services.

"Sure. I'll be back in a minute" she added for Katie's benefit.

"You seem to be getting on well." Catherine noted, surprised; Sara didn't usually take well to new people.

"Ah, well, I made a breakthrough, but she's fragile, so I changed the subject; favourite lesson in school, that sort of stuff, to take her mind off it for a bit." Sara replied, like it was no big deal, surprising Catherine even more. This kid had brought out a new side to Sara!

"Ok, Sara, this is Anita Roberts, she's from –"

"- social services" Anita finished "pleased to meet you" she added, holing a hand out. Sara shook it, grudgingly, feeling that it would be better to go along with it than kick up a fuss in front of her colleague.

"I'm assuming you're here to speak about the girl connected to our case" Sara replied.

"Yes. We're going to have to take her into care, she has no other family, and we think the sooner we get her away from here, the better. We've got a foster family lined up already in San Francisco" Anita explained. Sara scowled. While she didn't want to speak out in front of Catherine, she was not about to break the promise she'd made to the little girl.

"Is that necessarily a good idea?" She replied, lost for words

"Yes, why?" Anita responded

"I just...she...I think that... she's been through a lot, how can you be sure that putting her in a random foster home is a good idea? Especially in a new city?"

"In most cases, getting the child out f the situation and environment they are in and giving them a fresh start in a new place is the best idea." She replied stiffly.

"Well I disagree." Sara said simply

"Sara!" Catherine gasped, audibly shocked "come outside a minute" she added, seriously.

"What?" Sara asked, shutting the door to the break room behind her.

"What are you playing at?" Catherine hissed back

"Look, I... I promised..." Sara trailed off, not wanting to explain herself. Catherine wouldn't understand.

"You promised?" Catherine prompted

"I promised Katie I would do everything I could to stop her going into a foster home" Sara recounted sheepishly.

"You what!? Why? Sara, you know you can't go around making promises like that! Where else is she meant to go?" Catherine gasped, incredulous. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that" she added, when Sara mumbled a response.

"Just let me speak to this Anita woman, ALONE. I'm not gonna shoot her, you can take my gun if you want" Sara added, recognising the look on Catherine's face.

"Why do you...why does it...? Fine, just, don't do anything stupid" Catherine sighed, defeated, as she held open the door "and don't give me your gun" she added smirking, as Sara holstered the weapon again.

**so as I said, I hope this meets the standard expected...please review :) please?**

**and as I said before (I think) this is coming to a close, but I have already got ideas for the following fanfic, so stick with it :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok, so I've been putting this off for a while now, building it up, but i'm fairly satisfied that it's done now, so here goes :)**

"_Don't do anything stupid"_ Catherine's words rung in her ears. This was stupid, by definition: the definition of stupid was "lack of meaning or sense". Sara was not a people person, she didn't take well to new people, and she preferred to spend time alone than with others. She lived alone, she absorbed herself with her work, and she was generally doing something work related even when she wasn't working: she was a workaholic. This was definitely stupid. Definitely.

"Ms Roberts?" Sara called

"Yes? What was that about?" she gestured toward Catherine, who was standing outside the door, still.

"Professional disagreement, but it's resolved now, nothing to worry about"

"So, what was your alternative?" Anita questioned sceptically.

"Ok, this is going to sound farfetched, but I think that it would be better for Katie to..."

...

"Catherine?"

"Yep"

"Case is now unofficially closed-" Nick said, Warrick and Greg at his shoulders, as always.

"- Unofficially?"

"Yeah, we know what happened, we just need the witness statement from Katie, but no-one's in any danger, and there's no killer to convict. We're just about done. We are finally off duty, fancy coming for drinks to celebrate the end of a ridiculously long shift?"

"You know what, why not? Lindsey is at her friend's house, so I've got no reason to head back home just yet. Sure, count me in." Catherine replied grinning. "So what was the final verdict?"

"Dad abused the kids, we don't know the full extent, but that isn't our problem. Katie pushed him down the stairs out of self defence. We assume he was the person responsible for Rachel's death, but Katie hasn't actually said that yet. She's being kept in protective custody over night until we get the statement."

"Who with?"

"I dunno! Not me, she can't stand me for some reason..."

"Fair enough. Just let me grab my stuff out the locker room and then we can go."

...

"Well, as a public servant, a CSI, you are cleared for that automatically, so, as long as she agrees, I see no problem. It is a long process in all, but it's got late and you seem to be finishing for the night. We can't take her away before your case is closed, so she's gonna have to stay with someone at least for the time being."

"Ok, well, shall we go speak to her now?" Sara asked, and walked back to the interrogation room. She had a mini heart attack when she couldn't see Katie, but then smirked as she saw her curled up in a ball under the table, fast asleep.

"Katie?" She asked softly, shaking the girl gently. Katie groaned and stretched out. "There's someone here from social services-"

"NO! You said...you said they wouldn't...you promised" Katie sobbed

"No, they're not going to take you away, but they need your permission: How would you like to stay with me for a while?" Sara asked, looking up at Anita, hoping she wasn't about to make the biggest mistake of her life.

"Really?"

"Really."

Katie scrambled out from under the table and into Sara's lap. "I'll take that as a 'yes' then" Sara smiled, as she picked up the little girl and walked out the room towards the locker room.

"Well, that's settled then, I'll be in contact shortly" Anita called after Sara

"Cool, come on then munchkin, let's get home" she said to Katie, and continued on towards the locker room

...

"Sara?"

"Oh, hey Catherine, didn't notice you there" Sara replied, putting Katie down on the locker room bench.

"What?..." Catherine gestured towards Katie, unable to find words to explain her thoughts.

"Uh, Katie, can you wait here for a moment, I just need to speak to my colleague outside" Sara said, indicating for Catherine to follow her out.

"Sara, what is going on?"

"Yeah, you know how I needed to speak to the social services woman? Well..."

"What was that I was saying before you went in? Oh yeah, 'don't do anything stupid'. Sara, you hate kids, in fact, no, you hate people!"

"Hate is a strong word..." Sara toyed.

"Why?"

"It would mean that I had no tolerance of –"

"No, not 'why is hate a strong word?', why did you do it?"

"I don't want her to go into foster care with some random old git. Especially not in San Francisco" Sara said simply

"Why not? There's nothing wrong with foster care."

"How do you know that? How can you know that? You haven't experienced it." Sara practically cried. Catherine gasped.

"Oh God, Sara, I'm so sorry, I didn't, I ..."

"I've never told anyone before, well, I told Grissom after I blew my stack at you and Ecklie before, but..." Sara admitted quietly.

"What happened?" Catherine asked gently, placing a hand on her colleague's shoulder.

"My... he...she..."

"Sara? It's ok, you don't have to tell me"

"No, it's fine." She took a deep breath "my mum was schizophrenic; she had an attack and killed my dad." Sara decided the details about her past weren't necessary

"Oh my..." Catherine was speechless. "How old were you?"

"You know what's funny? I can't even remember. It was probably the biggest thing that ever happened to me, and I don't even know how old I was at the time. I don't remember my first foster parents either, but I do remember that I hated it."

"Sara, I'm so sorry, I had no idea! No wonder you felt so strongly..."

"Hey, It's ok, I didn't tell anyone, so you couldn't have known" Sara reasoned.

"No, but I should have guessed there was something up earlier. I'm a trained CSI."

"Anyway, I need to get home, it's late." Sara changed the subject before Catherine delved any deeper.

"I take it the pub is out of the question then?" Catherine asked

"You got it" Sara responded, before going back into the locker room and scooping up a sleeping Katie before walking out the door.

"Sara?"

"Yeah?" she turned around: Catherine was jogging towards her, again.

"Do you have a car seat?" she got an incredulous stare. "Ok, stupid question. Do you have _any_ experience with child care at all?" Another stare. "Do you want some help?" Catherine finally asked.

"Catherine, you're going out for a drink with your friends, i'm not about to take that away from you."

"Sara, until you decided to look after Katie, you would have been going out too. Well, maybe not, but it's no big deal, it happened all the time when Lindsey was growing up."

"If you're sure?" Sara said uncertainly

"I'm sure. Come on, if you pop by my place, you can have Lindsey's old car seat."

"Thanks Catherine"

"No problem"

"Catherine, you coming or what?" Warrick called

"Nah, sorry guys, no can do."

"Why not?" Greg yelled back

"Childcare issues" Catherine called

"But she said Lindsey was out, what does she...ahhhhh" Nick realised

"What?"

"Look, Greg..."

"Hey, guys, i'm not seeing anything - oh" Warrick said

"Have fun with that Sara" Nick called, as the three turned around and headed towards the pub, chuckling.

"Greg?! Wait!" Morgan called, indignant, as she and Finn emerged from the crime lab doors and chased after their colleagues, who received playful punches for their trouble.

...

Monday morning rolled in. The weekend had passed in a blur, thanks entirely to Catherine, who had a profound understanding of children and childcare, and had helped the weekend pass smoothly.

The only blip was that she had been called into work an hour earlier than usual, for some reason. Sara, wondered what was going on. Thankfully, she had been able to leave Katie under Lindsey's capable care: it looked like this might continue for most evenings in the foreseeable future.

When she had arrived, the receptionist told her they'd been asked to wait in the break room. She'd walked in to find the rest of the grave shift sitting around waiting too.

...

"Hey, guys, I have some news, can we all listen up for a moment?" Grissom announced, entering the break room where the grave shift CSI's were congregated. Sara snapped out of her daydream instantly.

"Ok, this isn't ideal, but for reasons that I'm not at liberty to discuss, I have to leave Vegas"

"What?! For how long? What has Ecklie done?" general outcry erupted around the room. Grissom chuckled. It was reassuring that his team would miss him.

"I don't know how long I'm gonna be gone for; it could be days, months or even years. It depends nothing's set in stone yet, and Ecklie has _nothing_ to do with it. This is my own decision. Sort of."

"So what's going to happen?" Nick asked

"Good question. Catherine, you are now the only supervisor, but I think provisions are being made to find me a replacement, and there is a new lab tech starting this evening. I haven't met her, but I'm told she's good. She'll be here in about an hour."

"So you're really just going? Just like that?" Morgan snapped her fingers

"Like I said: this wasn't entirely my decision, and it was all put together at the last minute. I wouldn't have sprung this on you so suddenly, but I have no other choice. I'm sorry guys"

"Well, I'll be expecting postcards. Where are you going?" Sara called

"I can't tell you."

"Can't or won't?" Sofia asked

"Can't. I honestly don't know for sure myself. Though if I did know I wouldn't be able to tell you anyway, so it's easier this way. Sorry. But, sure, I'll send post cards"

"When are you leaving?" Warrick asked.

"Ah, well. This evening." He said.

"You mean we don't get to throw a leaving party or anything?"

"No. Sorry." Grissom was apologising a lot lately.

"Well, I guess this is it then. Bye Grissom" Greg said, getting up to give his boss a hug. "I will miss you, in a weird sort of a way" he added.

"Thanks Greg" Grissom smirked.

"You're welcome" Greg replied as the rest of the room promptly followed suit, and hugs and handshakes flew thick and fast.

"Well at least you won't all be celebrating that I've gone" Grissom smiled before finally leaving the room before his colleagues, or as they were now; _former _colleagues, could say anymore. He didn't want to be a 'Last-day-crier".

...

"So, I wonder how this is gonna turn out." Someone said. They had been chilling about in the break room for the past forty minutes, waiting for the new lab tech to arrive and the shift to begin.

"I can't wait to tease the new lab tech" Greg said happily. "What?" he asked when his colleagues stared at him incredulously. "You all did it to me!" he said, with an air of a toddler tantrum coming on.

"Whatever you say Greggo" Nick replied, pulling him into a headlock and ruffling his hair.

"Hey!" Greg exclaimed, indignant, and picked up the nearest cushion to throw at Nick's head. However, he found it was taken from his hands before he got the chance to throw it. Catherine stood behind him, cushion in hand.

"Given that a new member of staff is about to turn up, and the shift starts in 10 minutes, I don't think this is the time or place for a pillow fight, do you?" She said in her stiffest, strictest voice.

"No Miss" Greg mocked, unable to conceal the ear to ear grin on his face.

"Good, now chop chop, you've got work to do or whatever" Catherine grinned wickedly as she chucked the cushion at Greg's head.

"Hey?!" Greg exclaimed, again, as Catherine laughed.

"Excuse me, err, hi." A young voice said.

**Dun Dun Duuuuuuun! yeah, so I am deciding between ending this story here or starting a new one which follows on... either way, be on the look out. Bye for now :)**


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